Stitching machine



Mach 10,1931.

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TORNEI/'51 B. J. DAVIDSON STITCHING-MACHINE March l0, 1931.`

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v @i s? March 10, 1931. B. J, DAVIDSON 'STITGHING MACHINE i@ j INVENTO/e;

m m.. W m F Y E w 4 \m.\ o O ...o 0 O www,... Lm m 7 M m IIIIII q m FPatented Mar. 10, 1931 Y ihiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE] BRUCE J'.DAVIDSON, 0F MARSEILLES, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY,OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEEV JERSEY STITCHING :MACHINEApplication filed March 31, 1926. Serial No. 98,734.

rPhis inventiony relates to an improved boxstapling or -stitchingmachine.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device -of this characterwhich will operate at high speeds and with a minimum of noise andvibration.

A further object of the invention is that of furnishing a machine ofthis type the parts of which will he relatively few in numoer and simplein construction so that the machine may be operated over relatively longperiods of time with freedom from mechanical diiliculty.

Another object is that of constructing a 35 stapling or stitchingmachine which will be entirely automatic in operation and in which,inthe event that a cessation in the feeding of the work occurs, theoperative functions of the machine will cease; and, further, in

which7 if through some unforeseen contingency a jamming of the workwould be likely to occur; the machine will automatically allow for thiscondition so that no breakage of the parts will result.

Still another object is that of providing a stapling or stitchingmachine in which certain of the parts heretofore regarded as necessarywill be eliminated, and in which such mechanism is provided will besusceptible of adjustment to such an extent that widely varyingconditions of work may be accommodated in a single machine.

@ther objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear herein- 353 after.

rlhe invention accordingly comprises the features of construction7combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth. and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should 5.V be had to the following detailed description itaken in connection with the accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of machine embodying theconstruction of 59;. the presentinvention, certain of the parts beingbroken away to disclose the underlying mechanism;

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the stapling or stitching head;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary partly sectional side elevation of a safetystop-bar;

Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the mechanism which controls `thefeeding of the wire;

F ig. 6 is a plan View of the feeding mechamsm;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation thereof;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 8 8 and inthe direction of the arrows of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an end View of the head shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the parts as shown in Fig. 9 andillustrating the same.

in a different position;

Figs. 1l and l2 are partly sectional plan views of the head, the partsin the former figure being shown separated; these views being takenalong the lines 11-11 and 12-12 of Fig. o;

Figs. 13 and 14 are enlarged fragmentary sectional views of thestaple-forming and -driving mechanisms and illustrating the same indifferent positions;

Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken along the lines 15-15 and in thedirection of the arrows of Fig. l2;

Fig. 16 is a partly fragmentary plan view of the stitching bar with theclinching blocks in position therein; and

Fig. 17 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 17-17 andin the direction of the arrows of Fig. 16.

`With primary reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral 2O indicates thebase of the machine, which supports a deck 21, as well as U-shapedbrackets 22 which have their npper arms overhanging this deck andsupporting a bar 23. Carried upon standards 24 and above the bar 23 is ashaft 25, with which various operating mechanisms, hereinafterdescribed, are connected. Mounted below the deck 21 are pairs oftransverselyextending shafts 26 and 27, a shaft 28 being providedbetween the innermost shafts of the pairs 26 and 27, and preferably inline withl the uppermost shafts thereof., The deck of the machine isformed with'pairs of grooves 29,' the first of which extends parallel tothe other and longitudinally of the machine and terminates at a pointslightly beyond the shaft 28; the second pair of these grooves beingslightly offset; with respect to theV first-named pair and extendingfrom a point in advance of the shaft 28 to the rear of the deck 21.Mounted one within each of these grooves is a conveyor, preferably ofthe nature of a sprocket chain 30, one pair of these conveyors passingaround sprockets 3l associated with the shafts 26 and 28, andasecondpair of these chains passes around sprockets associated with the shafts27 and 28. Q

In: order to operate these conveyors, as well as theisliaft'25, a motor32 may be suitably mounted uponthe framev ofthe machine and providedwith a pinion 33 which meshes with a pinion 34, in turn driving a gear35 by means of a pinion 36, `the whole providing a reduction train. Thegear or pinion 35 is mountedupon a shaft 37, to one end of which asprocket 38 is secured, the latter 'being connected with a sprocketassociated with the rearmost of the shafts 27 by means of a chain 40.`Mounted upon the outer end of the Vshaft 37 is a bevel gear 4l whichmeshes with the teeth of a corresponding gear 42 associatedwith theAshaft 25. v

Thus, when the motor is operated it will be obvious that thecliains 30will be driven to run. within the grooves 29 and towards the rear end ofthe machineand, likewise the shaft l25 will be rotated.

Each of the chains 30 is provided with lugs 43, which extend beyond theouter edges thereof and, consequently, above the upper face of the deck2l, so thaty an object resting upon this deck will be movedlongitudinally of the machine. The lugs upon the different pairs ofYconveyors are so arranged or timed that an object placed upon theforward end of the deck will be moved rearwardly to a point slightlybeyond the vertical plane occupied by the shaft 28. Thereupon, andduring the continued operation of the machine, it will come to rest andwill not continue its movement towards the rear end of the ma? chineuntil the lugs of the rear conveyor contact with its rear edge.

The article (in the present instance, a box' blank) is stitched orstapled immediately after its disengagement by the lugs vof the firstconveyor. ln order to insure against the momentum of the articlecarrying it past this benoted that a bar 44 is provided which has anextension 45 rockingly secured to its lower end, this extension carryinga contactlinger 46 and being maintained normally in alignment with thebar body by means of a spring 47 associated with its body and bearingagainst the forward edge ofthe extension 45 to a point beyond that atwhich it ispivotally associated with the bar proper. This membermay bemounted for sliding move# Vment in a guideway 48, and a cam 49 mountedupon the shaft 25 may cooperate with the upper bar end in order toproduce a reciprocation of this element to such an extent that its lowerend will be projected to a point intersecting the path of travel of anVobj ect moving over the deck 21. rIhe timing of the parts is such thatthis projection occurs when the box which is being moved by the forwardconveyor reaches a point at which -this conveyor is just moving out ofoperative contact with the article, and the retraction of he finger 45and associated parts is effected prior to the time at which the lugsassociated with the rearmost conveyor engage the rear edge of thearticle to bemoved. Y

The present machine is particularly adapted for use in the stapling orstitching of cardboard boxes. These members are initially blanked out ofsuitable material and are pro'- vided with score lines, subsequently towhich they are bent so that they remain in collapsed l condition andoccupy a minimum of space until they are rea-dy for use. Thus, in thepresent machine to which these collapsed blanks are fed, a stitching bar5() of usual construction is provided which extends longitudinally ofthe deck 2l from a point adjacent the forward end of the saine to apoint preferably to the rear of the stop provided by the mechanismdescribed in the preceding paragraph. rThis stitching bar serves as aguide for the blanks placed upon the deck of the machine at the forwardend as fed to the conveyor and carries an opener 51, which, as the blankis moved rearward by the first conveyer, serves to Vpartially open orextend the upper wings or flaps of the folded blank. A presser foot 52may be associated with vthe bar 23 and arranged in the path of travel ofthe blanks, in which position it serves to press the upper portionsthereof into proper contact with respect to each other and with theupper face of the stitching bar. immediately to the rear of this foot isthe working head of the machine, by means of which, in a mannerlhereinafter described, the adjacent flaps are secured to each other,and at this time it will be noted that a roller 53 is arranged in ad#Vancel of this foot and is elevated and rotated by friotional contactwith the blank in its Y passage along the stitcher bar; the purpose ofthis element being hereinafter brought out. The stitching operation in amechanism of this character is preferably accomplished by theuse ofstaples,.which are caused topenetratevthe` upper parts of the blankbeing operatedl upon in order to retain the same against movement withrespect to each other. rlhese staples are preferably formed within themachine, and tothis end suitable. reels of wire (not shown) are mounteduponthe machine frame and the `free ends 54 of the wiresare eachthreaded within a groove 55 formed in the periphery of a pulley 56, thewire being retained inthis position by the use of a disk 57 rotating insynchronism with the pulley and having itsedge knurled and extendinginto the groove thereof. In order to effect a. sin'iultaneous movementbetween the pulley and disk, the former may form an integral part of a.gear 58, and the latter may likewise form a part'offa gear 59, thesetwo gears being rotatably mounted upon a common support and with` theirteeth in mesh.A At this time it will be observed that the shaftssupporting the pulleys are each preferablyprovided with an eccentrically'disposed outer .end portion 60, and arms 6l are associated with theinner ends thereof. Springs 6l are attached to these arms and serve toshift the eccentric portions 60 of the'pulley-supporting shafts to apoint at Y which the periphery of the disks 57 extends toa maximum depthinto the grooves 55. As a result the wire will at all times be firmlyengaged between these members so that a positive feeding will beassured, and this will be true even though the wire might vary indiameter. lVire-feeding units ofthis nature are provided in a numbercorresponding to the number of stitching or stapling members associatedwith the machine head, and all of these units are driven by a shaft 62,the ends of which are suitably supported by brackets 63, the bodythereof extending longitudinally of the Amachine and through openings inplates V64, which latter are disposed at right angles tothe bar 23 andhave their inner ends extending at an angle of preferably 45 to theirbodies, these ends providing the mounting for the .wire-feeding unitsaforedescribed. The shaft 62 carries gears 65, the teeth of which engagethe teeth of the gears 59. As a consequence, when the shaft is rotatedeach 0f the units will be operated to feed wire to the staple-formingand -driving apparatus, the amountof feed being equal to the length ofwire required for the forming of one staple. While the gears 69 and 65may be of any suitable form, for example, bevel gears, thin, fiat spurgears as here shown are preferred, since the spaces in which these gearsmay be disposedare rela-v tively small and the fiat spur gear of thecharacter illustrated require less space in an axial direction thanbevel gears.

V It is also to be seen that the angle of 45 degrees by which the-innerends of plates Gel meet Vtheir bodies,k may be. varied at will so longas the angular disposition is less than a right angle, the angulardisposition determining the direction at which the staplesrare insertedin the blanks being stitched as hereinafter' described; the angulardisposition permitting a greater amount of stitching to be done within agiven space on the blank withoutweakening the same than if a horizontalor ertical stitching had been placed in the blank. Y

ln order to rotate the shaft 62 the shaft 25 carries a cam 66, whichcooperates with the roller 67 of a pusher rod GS, the lower end of whichis carried by a rocker arm 69 loosely encircling the shaft 62. Adjacentthe point of connection of the arm and rod a springpressed pawl 70 ismounted, and this pawl engages the teeth of a ratchet 7l keyed to theshaft 62. It will be obvious that as the shaft 25 rotates the rod 68will be reciprocated, due to the contact between the roller G7 and thecam G6, which contact is maintained by a spring 72. As a consequence,the pawl and ratchet yill have lost motion as well as simultaneousmovement, and this latter movement will occur once to each revolution ofthe shaft, thus driving the wire-feeding apparatus in the manneraforedescribed.

In order to prevent a feeding ofl wire in the event of a cessation offeed 0f the blanks, without, however, rendering it necessary to stop themachine, the roller 53 is mounted upon an arm 7 3, which is rockinglysupported as at 74 and is connected by means of a lin 75 with a rockerarm 76 mounted upon the shaft 62. This rocker arm has its body extendingmaterially beyond the axis of this shaft and terminates in a shoulder'77, which is movable to a. point at which it will engage the pawl 70 toprevent the same from coming into contact with the teeth of the ratchet71. Thus, while normally the shaft 62 is rotated, as aforedescribed, itwill be understood that if a blank is not riding over the upper face ofthe stitcher bar at the moment when the wire is about to be fed, theroller 53 will remain in contact with the stitcher bar, and,accordingly, the arm 7 3 will not rise, so that the shoulder portion 77of the rocker arm 7G will engage the iawl 70, and the latter will not becapable of operatively engaging the ratchet, and no feeding of the wirecan occur. If, however, as has been shown in Fig. 5, a blank is movingalong the stitcner bar no interference with the feeding operation willoccur.

Arranged adjacent the wire-feeding units is the working or stitchinghead of the machine, which in the present instance includes a cross-bar78 carrying a plurality of downwardly-extending bars 79, upon whichspringpressed trip members or latches 80 are rockingly mounted. Slidablymounted in advance of the forward faces of these bars are acorresponding number of staple-forming 'f' bars 81, which have theirlower ends terminating in a pair of arms 82, the inner faces of Vwhichare grooved as at 83. The upper ends of the bars 81 are notched as at84, and bothsets of bars 7 9 and 81 are mounted vin a block 85 providingguideways therefor. Each of the guideways is formed with an opening forthe passage of the wire, and anvil blocks 86 are mounted upon springarms 87 to extend into these guideways and to occupy positions betweenthe arms 82 of the staple formers when the latter are in elevatedposition. These blocks are notched as at 88, and when in the positionpreviously specied the notches lie in line with the wire openings formedin the walls of the guide block. The bars 79 extend to a point beyondthe base of the arms 82, and each of these bars at these points carriesa staple-driving portion 89 which extends into the space between thesearms. The upper edge of the block 86 is in each instance beveled as at90, and when engaged by the member 89 it will be obvious that the blockwill be'swung to the position shown in Fig. 15.

- bars 79 and 81 are moved downwardly the arms 82 will have their outerends engaged by those portions of the wire which extend beyond the sidefaces of the anvil, causing a shearing of the wire and a bending of theends of the same downwardly until7 finally, these ends assume a positionat right angles to that portion of the wire whichfremains in the notch88, and these ends consequently come to lie within the grooves 83,#thepreceding operations having been shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Thereupon thedriving member 89 will contact with the beveled upper surface 90 of theanvil, forcing the same into the position shown in Fig. 15, and,as aconsequence, the formed staple will-move out of engagement with thenotch y88l and be supported wholly within the grooves of the arms n 82,as has been shown in the ligure last Amentioned.

Tn order `to effect the aforedescribed'movement of the bars it will benoted that operating cams or strips 91 are associated with the memberproviding the guideways. vInitially, as the bars 79 move downwardly, the

Y ends of the latches 80 engage with the outerbe free to continue itsdownward movement and move downwardly with respect to the bar 81, thelower end of which is resting adjacent the upper face of the stitcherbar and in contact with the flaps of the blank which it serves to holdin position. The staple driver 89 will movedownwardly with the bar 79,

the staples penetrate the flaps of the box blank they come into Contactwith the clincher blocks and are diverted by these elements toy extendat rightV angles to the path of travel given them by the driving members89, itV

being understood that one clincher block is provided for each unit ofthe operating Or stitching head and that they areaccurately' aligned. Yf n i At this time it will be noted that the groups of bars 79 are soarranged that the staples will have their upper portions parallel tothefaces of the angular end portions'of the plates 6e and the lines of feedof the wires which are v being moved by the feeding units. As aconsequence, it will never be necessary for the wire to traverse anobtuse or acute bend, and thus the likelihood of deformed staples beingproduced will be prevented. Furthermore, by this arrangement it ispossible to group a maximum number of staple-forming and -driving unitsin a minimum amount of space. The ope-rating head is actuated in anydesired manner; for example, cams 94;' may be associated with the shaft25 and present track portions, within which rollers 95 carried by theupper ends of arms 96 move, the lower ends of these arms being attachedto the bar 78. Obviously, as the cams rotate the bar 78 will movedownwardly inorder to move the bars 7 9 and 81 in the manneraforedescribed. In the upward movement'of the parts a bar 79 will beretracted until the upper edge of the driving member 89 engages thebase' of the vbar 81 between the arms 82, at which point both bars willmove in unison, it being understood that the initial movement of theseelements with respect to each other allows the lower ends of thelatch-members to swing clear of the notch portions 84 of the bars sothat theparts will be reset. In order to cushion the upward movement ofthese elements, and particularly the bars 81, the latter may carry rods97, with which springs 98 are-associated, these springs extendingthrough openings in a guide bar 99 supported by the machine frame. Thusitis unnecessay to employ a ion iany

multiplicity of clutches or other mechanism for individually operatingthe staple-forming and -driving units, but, rather, the entire headembracing these elements is reciprocated to operate them in unison.

In a machine of this character, with the conveyors properlytimed, andwith a suitable number of staple-forming and ,-driving units embodied inthe stitching head, the clincher blocks are adjusted to exactly theposition which will assure. a perfect clinching operation. Thereafterthe motor is set in operation, which results in a driving ci theconveyors and the shaft 25. Ihile the working head is now reciprocatingno operative result is reached, for the reason that no wire is being fedtothe staple-forming units. As previouslystated, this will occur due tothe fact that the-roller 53 occupies its lowermost position, as nocartons are passing along the stitching bar. As aL consequence, the pawlassociatedvwith the pusher rod 68 will not operatively engage theratchet 7l secured to the shaft 62, and, accordingly,`the wire-feedingunits will not operate.

Upon boX blanks being properly fed to the deck of the machine, thevfirst conveyor will movel the same so that they are operatively engagedby the opener and their upper portions come to ride over the stitchingbar 50 against which they are firmly pressed. Obviously, thewire-feeding units will now operate, and it will be appreciated, aspreviously brought out, that, due to the angular disposition of theseunits and the manner in which the staple-forming and -driving units aredisposed in relationship thereto, the wire will not have-'to traverseany bends, and, consequently, any diiiiculties in this connection areavoided. yThe boX'blank will come to rest in proper position below theoperating head, and any tendency of vthe blank to pass this station'incident to its momentum will be avoided by means of the stop providedby the inger 46 associated Vwith the lbar da. Ii' forsome unforeseenreason the work-being operated-upon should become jammed atthis point,yno breakage of the machine parts will occur even thoughthey continue tooperate, for the reason that undersuch conditions the pressure againstthel finger 46 will become sufficiently acute-to-cause the extension l5of thebary to be rocked around its point oi pivotal mounting, allowing aclear passage for the work regardless ofthe position of the `workingparts of the machine; it being obvious that under these conditions theproper cycle of operation will automatically reestablish itselfit beingonly necessary that an operator again return the finger 45 to afpositionin line with the bar body 44. In any event, during that instant when theblank is at rest the stitching or stapling head will operatefto securethe upper iiaps thereof to one another. SubsequentlyD the lsecondlconveyor will engage the work and move ittoward the rear end of themachine where it may be automatically or manually removed from the deck2l.

It will be understood that in a machine of this character the mechanismmay be oper-4 ing from the scope thereof, it is intended that-I allmatter contained in they above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense. l

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed and all statements ofy the scope of the invention which asapmatter ot l( nguage might be said to i'all therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

l. A stapling machine, including a deck, a pair of conveyors formoving-.articles over said deck, means whereby an article is operativelydisengaged from one of said conveyors prior toits operative associationwith Vthe second of the same, and a stapli'ng head positioned over thesecond and adjacent the first of said conveyors and acting upon saidarticles during such interval.

2. A stapling machine, including a deck, a pair of conveyors associatedwith said deck, elements associated withsaid conveyors and engagingarticles to move the same along ksaid deck, means for continuouslymoving said conveyors, said conveyors being so timed that the engagingelements of one of the same move out of contact with an article prior tothe engagement of said article by the elements of the second conveyor,and a stapling head positioned over the second and adjacent the firstot' said conveyors and operating upon said articlefduring the intervalof non-engagement.

3. A stapling machine, including a. deck formed with grooves, conveyorsmovable within said grooves, elements associated with said conveyors forengaging and moving articles along said deck, means for continuouslymoving said conveyors, the elements 'of oneof said conveyors disengagingfrom said. article prior to the engagement of the latter bythe elementsof they second `conisI ' `4. A stapling machine, including, incombination, a stitching bar, means for feeding work thereover, a singlehead, and means for reciprocating said head, said head comprising Vaplurality of staple-forming andv -driving units arranged' immediatelyadj acent each other, certain of said units forming.

a fixed part of said head and moving in unison therewith and insynchronism with each other whereby upon'said head being operated aplurality of staples will be formed and driven. l f

5. A stapling machine, including, in combination, a stitching bar, meansfor feeding work thereover, a working head, means for operating thesame, said working head comprising a plurality of staple-forming and`-driving units, said units being disposed at` an anO'le of less than90o to the direction ofy feed of the work. l v A f j 6. A staplingmachine, including, in combination, a stitching bar, means for movingarticles to be stitched over said'bar, a head, means for operating the*same, said head comprising a plurality of units each includingstaple-forming and -driving elements arranged at an angle o'f'rless than90 tothe direction of movement of the articles being stitched, andfeeding mechanism for supplying wire to said units, said mechanism beingarranged parallel to said units whereby Vsaid wire is fed ina'substantially straight line thereto. A V v v 7. A stapling machine,including a stitching bar, a workinghead cooperating therewith, feedingmeans for supplying wire to said head and comprising a pair ofcooperating rotatable members engaging the wire, means for driving saidmembers, said meml Y bers'being disposed adjacent said head and at anangle of less than to the longitudik nal axis of the machine.

' V8. A staplingmachine, including, in combination, a deck, a pluralityof article-moving conveyors associated with said deck, a stapleformingand -driving head, means for actuating said mechanism to cause one ofsaid conveyors to move an article to a point adjacent said head, meansto temporarily prevent a further movement of said article, means foractuating said headupon said article ceasing to move, means whereby saidarticle is subsequently engaged by a second of said conveyors to movethe same towards the rear end of the machine, and means for continuouslydriving said conveyors.

' 9. A stitching machine, including a pair of conveyors having theirinner ends overlapping, means for constantly driving said conveyors,means for moving an article by means of one of said conveyors to aposition. adjacent the inner ends of both conveyors .andl disconnectingsaid article from said first conveyor, said'article thereupon assuming.`ai position offrest, a stitching head operatingl upon said article, andsaid second conveyor subsequently engaging said article to move the'same away from said stitching head.

10. A stitching machine, including a pair of conveyors having theirinner ends overlapping, la shaft supporting and common to both of theinner ends of said conveyors,

lmeans for constantly driving said conveyors,

a stitching head arranged adjacent the overlapping portions of saidconveyors, one of the latter engaging-an article and bringing it to aposition adjacent theinner end thereof, and thereupon disconnecting fromsaid articleto cause the latter to assume a condition of rest, means foroperating said head to stitch said article, and means for operativelyconnecting said article thereupon to the second conveyor to move saidarticle from a position. adj acent" said stitching head. d 'f l1. Astitching` machine, including a pair of conveyors` article-engagingelements forming a part of the same, means for constantly driving bothof said conveyors in substantial synchronism, the inner ends of saidconveyors overlapping, a stitching head arranged adj acent the point ofoverlapping of'said conveyors, an article beingmoved by thej engagingelements of one of said conveyors to a position adjacent said head andbeing thereupon automatically disconnected therefrom, means foroperating said stitching head, the articleengaging elements of saidsecondv conveyor being timed thereafter to engage said article to shiftthe same away from said head.

12.` A stitching machine, including, in combination, a head, means foroperatingl the same, means for feeding articles to bel stitched to saidhead, a stop arranged beyond said head for arresting the travel of anarticle,and

means for reciprocating said stop, the' said stop comprising a pair ofsections swingingly connected to each other, andY a spring memberrigidly secured to one of said sections and bearing against the other ofthe same to normally maintain both in aligned Vposition with respect toeach other. n j Y 13. A stitching machine, including articlefeedingmeans, a staple-forming and -driving head comprising, in combination, aslidablymounted staple-forming bar having a notched lower end formingarms, an anvil lblock having a horizontally-disposed notch and extendingbetween said arms, a spring arm mounting said anvil, means for feeding`wire to notch of the latter, a second bar slidably mounted with respecttothe first bar, a pivoted catch connecting said bars, a cam-portionforming a part of said catch, a-fixed stop cooperating with saidcam-portion during the movement of said bars to disconnect one from Atheother, means for projecting and retracting said second har, and meansfor cushioning the upward movement of said second bar.

14. A stitching machine, including, in combination, a driving shaftextending longitudi- 5 nally of the machine, a stitching head connectedto be reciprocally driven by said shaft, means for rotating said shaft,a pair of conveyors also connected with said shaft to he driven therebyand in synchronism With each lo other, a Wire-feeding mechanism alsoconnected with said shaft and with said head, and means connected withsaid mechanism for automatically interrupting the feeding of Wire in theabsence of an article to be stitched 15 by said head.

' In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature;

BRUCE J. DAVIDSON.

